A Big Concern

Uber is constantly pushing for autonomous vehicles, and so is Apple and certain automakers. However, it is evident that it would be bad for the American worker and the reasons are obvious: driverless vehicles would put many companies out of business, and consequently, leave many without a job.

That is the issue, because it puts the national worker’s rights at risk. Obama was benevolent towards driverless vehicles; however, is it the same case for Donald Trump?

Image: technologyreview.com

The National Limousine Association Has Spoken

The NLA is aware of this problem that is putting all limo companies in the country at risk. It would affect big and small companies equally, be it a big player as Ross Limo from Los Angeles or a family-run business from Arkansas.

Not everyone would have the capital to acquire driverless limousines, but more importantly, it would leave many chauffeurs without a job. That is why the NLA is urging Donald Trump to protect the American worker against this threat.

As a logic consequence, one can assume that Trump’s narrative will support this act, and we hope it goes down that way, because otherwise, it would put an entire industry in serious risk and all the companies, workers and families that depend on it.

Road Safety in Exchange for Jobs

This is simply not acceptable, and we are sure that the NLA and many Americans will support this. Many companies and enthusiasts of driverless cars argument that the large-scale adoption would make roads much safer (we do not know it yet, it is only pure speculation), but we cannot do it at the expense of leaving thousands without a job, and therefore, an income for their families.

Bottom Line:

The GOP tax bill has already shown good signs that Trump’s administration actually cares about workers, but the question is still here: Will the POTUS fight against the threat of driverless vehicles? We still have to see it, but we sincerely hope he does.

Love him or hate him, one cannot neglect the fact that Donald Trump is one of the most notorious political characters of the century. He has already left his mark in history, and it is something that will prevail in time.

However, what is the connection between Palm Springs and Donald Trump? What does this beautiful city have to do with politics? This article is not your normal piece of content, not at all, but that is the beauty of it. Therefore, if you are up for reading something new and interesting, then you are welcome!

That is his opinion, and he gave it way before the elections, but as you can easily guess, this was brought up to attack him during his presidential run. That is the connection between Palm Springs and Trump. Let’s analyze this point deeper.

A Fair Critic:

Many used this statement from 2012 to say that Trump is an enemy of renewable sources of energy, and therefore, an enemy to the planet. Nothing could be far from truth, because in order to identify what he really wanted to say, we need to check what he said on Herman Cain’s radio show, where he talked about this issue.

He pointed out that several windmills were broken and rusty, hence, giving the whole farm a bad look, and consequently, transferring this to the whole city. A fair and valid point, which unfortunately, not many media outlets took care to point out.

It is very clear to state that if something affects a place’s aesthetics then it is a problem, and Donald Trump is right on that.

A Classic Case of Political Attack:

As we can see, it is far easier to take out his declarations out of context and directly accuse him of opposing the use of renewable source of energies (it is fair to say that he said that wind turbines were way too expensive and that there were better alternatives).

Therefore, it is a lesson for everyone out there: everything in politics needs to be double-checked. It goes for people in every sector of the political spectrum, because this example of Trump’s tweet and interview clearly show how one can twist it and use it as a way to attack the person.

Well… I know this was not your typical blog post, but it served a purpose: show you how political attacks work, and all by taking the beautiful city of Palm Spring as an example.

You probably know of the extremely violent and cruel actions carried on by ISIS.

Their brutality, violence and evilness is beyond question… but are we doing enough to stop them?

Is the world doing enough to stop the terror? Are we dealing with the issue the right way?

As you read every word of this short article you will begin to understand why most of the actions carried by the West – principally Europe – are not only having zero effect in the crisis, but actually worsening it.

Importing Terror: France, UK and Germany

Let’s do a quick recap of how Europe is importing terror willingly.

France:

The most remarkable episode is the November 2015 Paris Attacks which left 130 dead persons and 368 injured. This series of coordinated attacks – which includes the massacre at Bataclan which left 89 dead persons – were all carried on by ISIS sympathizers and members.

2016 Nice Attack. On 14 July 2016, during Bastille Day celebrations, Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel drove a 19-tonne truck into crowds of people in the street leaving 86 dead and 434 injured. One of the worst vehicle-ramming attacks ever registered in the country.

UK:

7 July 2005 London Bombing. Series of coordinated attacks left 56 dead and 784 injured. These suicide bomb attacks were focused on murdering civilians using the public transport system in peak hours.

2017 Manchester Arena Bombing. During Ariana Grande’s concert on 22 May 2017 a suicide attacker with a bomb left 22 dead and 120 injured.

June 2017 London Attack. On 3 June 2017 a white van drove across London Bridge at extremely high speed leaving 8 dead and 148 injured, some of them in critical condition.

Germany:

Christmas Market Attack. On 19 December 2016 a truck rammed through a Christmas market in Berlin, leaving 12 dead and 48 injured.

New Year’s Eve Sex Assaults. During New Year’s celebrations 1200 women were sexually assaulted by 2000 men, leaving as a result 24 alleged rapes, multiple cases of groping and theft.

Where are we heading?

There are many other incidents to mention, but this quick recap should be more than enough to see how imported violence and brutality is already affecting the West in a significant manner.

Are we waiting for ISIS to slice people in half with an electric chainsaw? Because that’s what they are doing in the Middle East and what they tried to do in Belgium in 2016 according a radical imam’s son, who revealed the plot to kill Christians in a mall using chainsaws.

Actions that Mean Nothing: Let’s Wake Up

Seems like many countries in the UE are in a competition to see who can import the most refugees.

That is not only doing nothing for remedying the situation in Syria and other countries, because it’s also damaging European citizens by exposing them to terror. Since the influx of refugees was increased many of these attacks started to took place, and as it seems, they are just becoming more frequent and normal.

Well, it can be even worse: 99% of the refugees in Germany don’t have a job. It means they survive thanks to government’s subsidies, and we can confirm by seeing that the country plans to spend 93.6 billion euro on refugees by end 2020.

What we can take from this:

The open borders policy is a disaster

Refugees are not assimilating to the European societies

They are unskilled and cannot get a job

They are increasing government’s spending

European countries are simply importing terror

Are you beginning to see how these actions mean nothing? They are not solving any problem, and to the contrary, they are creating many others.

This Is What We Can Do:

Dismantle Open-borders Policy:

Let’s start by dismantling the open-borders policy and just allowing into the country really valuable and vulnerable persons, those who are willing to adapt to European societies, respect their lifestyles and respect native citizens. Let’s stop importing terror to our countries and exposing our families.

Assad Is an Ally:

If we truly want to get rid of ISIS and terrorism in this part of the world, then it’s about time to stop attacking Assad. He’s an Alawite and respects religious minorities in his country which includes Christians.

Let’s get rid of the “Assad must go” said by Barack Obama. If the West had allied with Bashar Al-Assad, this would have been already fixed. Unfortunately, things are just getting worse for Syria, the Middle East and the West.

The Canadian Case:

Anne McLellan is not wrong when she claims ‘the world is watching’ Canada’s marijuana legalization. A move which could have a big impact on how other countries are handling the issue.

Although she recognizes that it will take time, there’s no doubt Canada holds an important role on the international scene, and that legalizing it in this country, could open the possibility to do it in other countries.

From her speaking at the University of Windsor, which included a free lecture From Prohibition to Legalization, we can extract the following:

“The regulatory regime that goes with the legalization is very complex and involves all three levels of government. It’s going to require high levels of collaboration and cooperation.”

She recognizes it’s one of the most challenging files she has ever worked on. It’s mainly due to the fact that they are looking forward to legalizing it, but also regulating it for vulnerable groups in society like young people.

Legalization is a complex matter. And as Anne McLellan states: “The world is watching us and we are quite aware of that fact”.

It’s because if Canada accomplish legalization, which is projected for 2018, it could settle an historical precedent and serve as a case study for countries that want to create similar laws.

The Vermont Case:

And in other marijuana legalization news we have a great promise for consumption of recreational marijuana in the United States of America. On May 3rd, the bill known as H.170 was approved with a 71 to 74. A slight margin, yet enough.

This bill is very important, because it’s another event in what seems as a chain reaction, after Vermont’s Senate approved a measure aimed to legalize, regulate and tax minimal amounts of marijuana. Although, this bill will have to wait for House vote until January, 2018.

Going onto the same track as Colorado and its recreational consumption laws, the future for recreational consumption of cannabis in Vermont seems promising.

Although it’s yet a controversial topic, if Vermont results successful on its journey, it may inspire other states to do the same. It’d be a great advance, similar to the Canada’s case, but at a national level.

Image: governing.com

Texas and Medical Marijuana:

And in other important medical marijuana news, we have that advocates of medical marijuana in Texas have sharpened plea for its legalization in the state.

“Don’t let misconceptions continue to block a life-improving treatment for people with serious health problems,” they claim.

They delivered a simple plea to state lawmakers on May 3rd. Supporting it with personal stories on painful conditions untreatable with conventional methods and drugs, they strive for legalizing marijuana for medical purposes.

Taking Cherie Rineker’s case – 49-year-old mother with an incurable kind of blood cancer – she states medical marijuana would allow her to quit some really hard drugs, which do her as much damage as her disease.

“There’s no moral high ground in denying medical patients medicinal marijuana,” she states, “when allowable prescription drugs rob us our health.” And this is a thought shared by many other patients in Texas who strive for creating similar medical marijuana laws to Colorado’s.

Colorado is a strong referent in legalization and regulation of cannabis. Many people, including Cherie Rineker, have traveled to this state to solely try medical marijuana. And as she states, thanks to it she could cut on her prescription drugs and feel great relief.

Between other supporters of this initiative we have members of the group Mothers Advocating Medical Marijuana for Autism, health professionals informed on the issue and veterans, who testified to give the plea more support and ground.

“All of these people here who can benefit from this don’t have time to wait,” claims Heather Fazio, Texas political director for the Marijuana Policy Project. They criticize the indecision of Texas legislators on this issue, claiming patients cannot wait anymore.

There’s still a long way to go, but this initiative seems to be a great step onto the right direction.

Despite the casual and playful nature of stickers, they are not just popular among the young generation. In fact, they are popular among various age groups and they are one of the best ways to efficiently expand your market reach.

Here are several ideas that you can utilize when you use stickers for branding and visibility of your products.

Target your Audience

In order to be successful, you have to create a campaign based on your target market. The same as what you would do for any promotional operation, the greatest way to start a sticker campaign is to invest time in research and planning. Think about your target audience: their characteristics; their tastes and expectations; the impression you would want to project; the type of consumers you want to capture; and how you can build a lasting relationship.

Custom Stickers

One of the most practical reasons for sticker marketing is that they are very flexible in serving your purposes. There are a lot of printing services around (that can charge you a small price) to help you come up with a custom-made sticker depending on your requirements.

If you want, you can look for printers in your area; although, local printing may cost you more. Ordering stickers in bulk is highly recommended as you may be able to avail special offers and discounts of the items and services you purchased.

Be Creative

Besides incorporating a sticker campaign and knowing your audience, don’t forget to be inventive. Although the market isn’t as crowded as it is now, and even though stickers are convenient to use, making it look special will make your business standout from the rest; thereby, attracting customers.

Distribution

Like leaflets and brochures, stickers can be handed out; however, they’re best used as a fun and easy-going tool. To give the campaign the right exposure, it is important that you should carefully choose where you should place it. The spots you choose should be accessible enough that it would be hard to miss. Just ensure that you’re placing it in respect to other people’s spaces.

Bumper Stickers

One of the most obvious choices to achieve exposure is using bumper stickers. Nowadays, car stickers have evolved from the tradition. Not only are they intended to be placed on the bumper, but alternatives like stickers being attached to car doors and windows have also become acceptable.

Striking Message

Sticker marketing is important, whether you have a solo campaign or a larger one. The major requirement is to have creative ideas and originality, and adapt to the medium that would suit your needs and the audience as well.

The social media war rooms were created, the database has already been built and the advertisement targeting methods has been secured and loaded. At this moment, it is about implementation and comprehending how, where and how much channels to use? How much funds should be allocated to digital over some other channels? But how all of this latest multiple channel voter profile data base best utilized, to which goals and on what segments? Nowadays since the advertisement technology can focus to tapered slices of the electorate, will there be messages address to that of the interest of the voters? Plus where and how can digital channels can turn people to shut away from the screen to carry out the most vital political act turning out to vote?

Ari Zoldan of the Talk Radio News Services in Washington, DC – “Considerably one of the finest conferences I’ve ever joined. It was a forum which is full of sense, with quality people, absurd content and enormous conversations.”

Daniel Hodges, the Managing Director, Consumers in Motion, LLC says – “this was a complete view of the varying political landscape, which is a must join event.”

Joan FitzGerald, SVP TV and Cross-Media Services, comScore – “It’s thrilling moments to be in the political content marketing – The conference of the MediaPost Marketing Politics drags the players and issues together in a single place.”

Harun Kazaz, the CEO and President of American Story Channel/American Software Works – “In Washington, all politicians should ensure to send their campaign managers to the conference of MediaPost’s Marketing Politics. Not more than that would be purely trial and error that may charge them a huge amount of money with less return of income.”

Dan Clifford the Vice President, Marketing of the famous lingerie and perfume brand Victoria Secret – “I loved to drop a note to tell you that I thought that the OMMA content of MediaPost was some of the finest that I’ve seen for the past 2 years at SXSW. I am grateful for letting me be a part of your conference.”

Kevin Klein, Global Display Advertising Marketing Head – “Beyond all other conference, the events of MediaPost give the most inclusive insight into the condition and the future of the interactive media, advertising and marketing. It has an excellent content, plus the people that I have the chance to meet are those taking the lead to create interactive a leading means for advertisers. These are high-quality events for anybody who’s involved in the digital media arena.”

The future of content marketing in politics and on other sectors is expected to improve in the coming years that will definitely commence next year. This is something that all the people in USA, Australia, Canada and other countries all over the world are looking forward to.

So far, in the last 10 years, Scotch whisky did a great job with their 115 distilleries all over the country, working round-the-clock to produce world-class whiskies to cater 200 markets all over the world. About forty bottles of Scotch whisky are shipped abroad every second, this contributes to about £5bn of the balance of payments in the UK. However, the success of their whiskies came at a price.

The Scotch Whisky Association is now working 24/7 to block attempts of some companies worldwide in passing off their products to boost the country’s profits. In one of the recent news, the industry body revealed that the proceedings were authorized against 19 various brands in the previous year: it covered Belgium, Curacao, China, Ecuador, Germany, France, New Zealand, India, Scotland and the Netherlands. Scotch whisky has been protected as a GI (Geographical Indication); this means that the product can be produced only in Scotland, according to the rules of the UK. However, this did not stop imitators; they came up with different ingenious ways just to avoid the laws and will be protected.

The facts and figures of Scotch whisky in 2014 are the following:

Exports generated was about £3.95billion, it is equivalent to £125 per second.

Each second, 38 bottles were shipped abroad.

Over 10,000 people are employed directly in the industry.

About 115 distilleries were licensed for the production of Scotch.

Scotch whisky accounted for about 25% of all the UK exports in terms of food and drinks.

Magnus Cormack, director of legal affairs in SWA said that the organization has around 60-70 active legal cases in thirty different countries, at the same time, the trademark oppositions reached 300 and it is increasing coming from 20 countries. He said, the issues involved are simple fraud like passing drinks labelled as Scotch whisky even if they are not and subtle attempts of dressing up products so that they look like Scotch. Last year, the association acted against Highlander, a brand from Bulgaria.

With this growing concern, Cormack said: “With the litigation internationally we have to draw on the expertise of lawyers in other countries to actually do the groundwork”.

For two days, Vice President Joe Biden takes a good tour in South Florida to gauge some potential support and acquire political intelligence as he considers running for president.

The Itineraries

Biden has a number of itineraries during his two-day political trip. The following are included in his itineraries: Miami-Dade College for a discussion of college affordability and workforce training; negotiation for nuclear agreement with Iran before gathering Jewish leaders in Davie; and moving around Florida for campaign donors for a fund raising dinner for U.S Sen. Bill Nelson and other Democratic senators.

With this range of political routes, Biden will be in scrutiny for every step, word and action he makes. People will be looking for clues whether he’ll be seeking the support or nomination of the Democrats for his presidential pursuit. Obviously, Florida is an important state as it is the biggest US state. As it could be remembered that it is the state gave Clinton the best of everything in terms of Democratic support.

Major Supports to Biden’s Presidency

Many of Biden’s supporters have been vocal in pushing him to run for the presidential race as Clinton is experiencing a diminishing support.

1. Sen. Jeremy Ring

Sen. Jeremy Ring, a Democrat representing Northwest Broward, vocally saying, “He should run. If Joe Biden runs, sign me up. I would be one of his biggest supporters.” Ring is not a new supporter of Biden and he is always vocal about it. Ring then added, that Biden would be a great president and is capable of rallying a country, does not have stains and is very approachable.

Just like other supporters, the vice president’s ability in connecting with the working class is being praised. Also, Ring really appreciated how Biden displayed a “super human strength” through his personal tragedies like the deaths of his wife and two children.

For the people of Florida, Biden is not a stranger. Throughout his term as a vice president, he has already visited Florida for more than 30 times with multiple appearances in various events and places like Broward and Palm Beach. Last 2005, Biden was on the campaign trail for Bill McBride who was running for governor in Florida.

2. Gordon Deckelbaum

On the other hand, is another vocal supporter of Biden in the name of Gordon Deckelbaum, a semi-retired real estate developer and former chairman of the Jewish Federation of Broward County. Deckelbaum said that, it’s been awhile since he was thinking that Biden would be the best man to run the country and he is hoping that Biden would take the challenge.

While with a hanging affiliation so far, Broward County Commissioner Stacy Ritter said that she is looking forward for the vice president to make up his mind. Ritter is one of the Florida Democrats who was known for supporting Barack Obama on his first presidential campaign.

With the August 20 Poll of Quinnipiac University of Florida Democrats, it had been found out that 48 percent supported Clinton, 15 percent for U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and for Biden, 11 percent. However, the statistics still fluctuating, especially that Biden has not yet made a decision leaving others hanging on their decisions too. And add to it that blow of the issues of unworthiness against Clinton.

The upcoming 2016 Presidential Election is already making big fuzz around Florida not just among people but also among various companies since they too can have a big impact especially to whom their support would be.

Fiorina said, as a tech adviser to various agencies like NSA and CIA she has the edge. She said, American people are now sick, tired of those people within the political circle, and is looking for someone from outside to occupy the seat.

Moreover, Fiorina said that through her experiences of doing various policy works like advising secretaries of defense, heads of CIA and NSA, the secretaries of state and the Homeland Security, she has a great edge against her opponents, and that she is not a neophyte. Also, her global connections make her more qualified.

On being CEO

Fiorina said, “I understand how bureaucracies work. And that’s important because our government has become a vast, huge, bloated, corrupt bureaucracy.” Her wide knowledge and experience at HP Company as CEO from 1995 to 2005 is a proof that she is a leader. She said, “I had to make some tough calls during some tough times that many technology companies did not survive at all. There’s nothing worse than laying someone off I had to make some tough calls during some tough times that many technology companies did not survive at all.”

On being Fired

On 2005, Fiorina was laid off from the company and according to her, “I was fired in a boardroom brawl. We had board members who were leaking information out of the boardroom. You know, the truth is this: It is a leader’s job to challenge the status quo. And when you do, you make enemies.”

On Titles

Lastly, she added, that being US senator and secretary of state are not significant accomplishments as she said, that those are just titles. “In the world that I come from, a title’s just a title,” Fiorina said. “Why are we so impressed with political titles? A senator is a title. Secretary of state is a title. What has anyone accomplished with their title?”

Running for national seat like a presidential ticket, it is of great important to enter into the market. It is just like promoting oneself to get votes amongst people. With the use of internet, doing such would be a lot easy especially using domains with high SEO metrics. With this, a candidate would just easily reach the people and promote his/her political platforms.

Jody Kriss, The Bayrock Group’s former CFO and cofounder of East River Partners, admits that he was working for the Russian Mob for over seven years. This occurred around the time he was working for Bayrock Group. He was asked to run errands for the Mafia, involving real estate transactions in New York and Florida using money from various criminal activities.

The sheer number of lawsuits Jody Kriss filed as a result of this admission is known to the public. Based on lawsuits filed by Kriss, he believes that it is okay as a result to use explicit extortion to get the shares from real estate deals that he believes he is entitled to. He also is acting as if it is acceptable to use blackmail to force defendants to move out of their apartments. He ultimately paid these victims $1.6 million for their silence.

In another Jody Kriss lawsuit, he uses dead Holocaust survivors as pawns in a litigation scheme against a Bayrock Group partner, attempting to use stolen documents as extortion to attempt to reap a half billion dollars from the embattled company.

One of Kriss’ former business associates is wanted by the Moscow district attorney office for tax and finance charges. According to his other partners, it was Kriss who covered for the illegal activities knowingly and acted as a frontman to hide the crimes. Another business partner of Jody Kriss was arrested for pimping, resulting in another lawsuit against Bayrock Group. How other partner, a popular Mob associate, has requested FBI protection since Kriss requested a hit on him fro the Persico or Columbo crime family.

Jody Kriss and his legal team of Fred Oberlander and Richard Lerner, were accused of stealing pertinent documents from the US Supreme Court, as well as from the Bayrock Group. These sealed documents served to prove that one of Kriss’ former coworkers helped the FBI and US Justice Department to capture known Mob associates. These documents that Kriss illegally submitted as evidence to the courts were sealed to keep the coworker’s safety from being at risk and his life and the lives of his family members from being harmed.